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when we first arrived there, there was not a lot of security to guard. and there were three children that came out, one of them was, had a very bloody face. it was a very violent scene. and there were two other ones that they were, you know, they were in the arms of a state trooper. they did not move. their face was very pale. it was very tragic. >> reporter: welcome back, everybody. you're watching our special coverage of the sandy hook elementary school shooting that happened 90 minutes north of new york city. i want to update you on the very latest we know. a couple things we are waiting for, we are expecting a press conference from law enforcement. they have been doing them regularly. they are now 90 minutes delayed or so on that. we are waiting to hear the very

latest inside that scene because they have obviously closed down that scene. and it's being treated as a crime scene. they have been trying to process the crime scene as the last thing they have told us. we are waiting on the update of that. it is 20 children between the ages of 5 and 10 killed in this terrible tragedy as well as six adults at the school. including the school's principal and sky psychologist. the suspect is 20-year-old adam lanza. sources say he was armed with three guns, wore fatigues and had a military vest on. he got the guns from his mother. all five guns were registered to her. and she was found dead in her home not far from where we are right now. parents and teachers, i think it is fair to say the entire nation is struggling with how to really understand how a gunman could open fire on a bunch of small children at an elementary school. so we wanted to have a

conversation about how to have that conversation. dr. eric fisher is a licensed clinical psychologist, an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder. dr. fisher, i appreciate you talking to us. just a few moments ago i talked to a first and third grader. and one of the things they said to me is they don't really know what to do. they have been letting the kids dictate how much they talk or how much not to talk, but now that they know some of their first graders' best friends have been massacred, they just don't know what to do. what would you advise them to do? >> well, i think you do in some ways let your child take the lead and ask them what they know and what they are aware of. when people experience trauma, it is not often stored in the verbal centers of the brain but the non-verbal center of the brain. as kids work this through, they could have a lot of emotion but not have words. a lot of times we have emotions before we have words. and we have to see that everybody works through their grief and emotion differently.

i encourage people to draw, to write, to color, to paint, to sing through their healing process. at this time, though, anybody whose been in this experience is going to need some professional help and support. that's just an absolute. so the sooner they can get to somebody and consult with people who are experts and professionals in the area, the better they will be in the long run. also as parents, make sure you're taking care of yourselves, too. if your kids see you worn and having a difficult time, some of that is going to be okay because they will see this is a human experience. however, it is important that you have an outlet as a parent to be there to support your kids and make sure you're consulting a professional if you need that. too. >> reporter: i want to bring in dr. sanjay gupta. ur chief medical correspondent. you have done a lot of work in most traumatic stress. are children's brains capable of overcoming this more easily than adults or do you find the opposite, does it affect them

for the rest of their lives? >> they both can be affected by post-traumatic stress disorder, but kids are resilient. the same sort of episodes are sort lived. so just as your guest was saying, a lot of times it could be very subtle things. a little bit of regression, for example, in terms of development and temper tantrums. something that seems unusual, but oftentimes it could be more short-lived. i saw something very interesting, soledad, and we talked about this before. sleep can oftentimes be one of the first big -- sleep can be a very powerful predictor overall of how someone copes in the long-term. so even last night, tonight, parents watching and making sure their kids are getting sleep. i know it sounds like a simple thing, but if you look at the study, it's a powerful predictor how they will cope in the long rung. >> reporter: i want to go back to erik fisher, for people who were not here and whose children did not go through the trauma, and yet i think as any parent watching the story unfold from

around the country, we are trying to figure out how do i tell my child honestly they will be safe in school when i cannot honestly say that. and as you know they know when you're lying and trying not to lie but you also want to give them reassurance. what do you do? >> i'm careful to not make promises. i never tell my 7-year-old daughter i promise because we cannot make promises over things we do not control. i really try to say this is what we are doing and these are the plans i have. make sure you know you have an emergency plan if you get separated, what's your emergency call and where's a safe place to go that's a meeting place or things like that. those are things important to have in place. because the more people feel like they have a plan, the less stress that occurs in a situation in the long-term stress. dr. gupta made a great point about watching sleep because of the stress hormones secreted when sleep deprived but you are not just looking how kids

respond for the next month or year, but in the work of people with traumas as children, we are talking about the next 20 years. even in these events, i have had to consult with clients to say turn off the tv. don't watch it as they bring up huge triggers for post-traumatic stress. >> reporter: it is so interesting to hear the descriptions of the teachers so clearly heroes. having the children hide in cubbies and try to protect them in a way that with a gunman roaming around, they can't really protect them in doing their all and being organized and bringing them to the firehouse. that's amazing. is that a way to focus? it breaks my heart, it is so upsetting, but at the same time it feels like one positive thing in this horrible thing is people were truly heroic. >> it is tough to talk about, but the whole notion of empowering yourself in some way. in a situation where you seem to have lost complete control. you have no longer to do anything all to empower yourself or the people around you. it may seem like small things,

just singing songs to the children, hiding in closets, and not even being sure those will have a significant impact in terms of preventing the horror, but that empowerment goes a long way as saying, control your own feelings before controlling every one's feelings. you have been hearing these stories all day. >> reporter: let me ask you a question, sanjay, about what a family member of the shooter, adam lanza told investigators. he said that adam hadautism. my nephew is autistic and i have never heard to autism being linked to this violent behavior. we have linked it to smasz shootings before but not autism. what is your study? >> there are hardly any studies on this, but there were a couple

from a year or two ago tha to show the link between this and any kind of violent behavior was the studies don't bear that out. violent outbursts like any child or young person i have are there. there are some studies looking at empathy. could there be limited empathy? but even the studies are limited. i will say, for example, the diagnosis of aspergers is not a diagnosis. as of this year that diagnosis is gone. so i guess i wouldn't reach too much into that. >> reporter: as we are waiting for information to come to us, erik fisher, thank you for joining us this morning with your insight. and sanjay, i appreciate your time. we are waiting for this press conference. there are now, what would you say, like 100 cameras at least here lined up for the state police and the newtown police officials to come out and update

us on the very latest that they know. we also know a little bit more detail from the librarian at sandy hook elementary school. she says the kids and the teen teachers were prepared on what they could overhear over the intercom. she talked a few moments ago on what she did to keep kids safe during the shooting spree. listen. >> everybody does what they have to do when confronted in a situation like that. and everybody that we practiced it, and they knew what to do, and you just think about protecting the kids and just doing the right thing. >> reporter: how long did you practice this? >> we have lockdown drills. i don't remember how many, but there are rules to have a certain number a year. so the kids know the routine. everyone has a spot in the room where they are supposed to go to. >> reporter: can you describe that space for us? >> in the library it is between

a couple bookcases with no windows. we went into a back storage room and locked the kids in there. >> reporter: how close were you there? >> we were like this close together. there was crayons and paper the storage room in the back. and we tore some up and gave them clipboards and had them color and draw pictures. there were three other adults with me. they were asking what's going on, we said we don't know. our job is to stay quiet. it could be a drill or may not. >> reporter: you didn't know at that point? >> we knew because i called the office and she told me there was a shooter. >> my kids, friends of theirs have little sisters or brothers dead. everybody in town knows everybody. there's not going to be anybody affected by this. it is awful. i'm just glad they were safe and they were worried about me because we were in lockdown and didn't know. the kids back home in high

school were left watching it on tv. it was probably really difficult for them. >> reporter: did you know the mother? >> no. she was not into play there as far as i know. >> reporter: many people were saying how great the principal was. >> she was a personal friend and a wonderful mother. >> reporter: just devastating for people trying to make sense of what happened here. a lot of people still grateful their children survived and then all the parents who are mourning today. 20 children lost their lives in this terrible, terrible horrific shooting. >> we lost a lot of babies today in this town. and there are a lot of very sad families. and as everyone can think, you never think it is going to happen, but basically it happens all over the world at this point. ♪

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as a country we have been through this too many times. whether it is a school in newtown, a temple in wisconsin, a movie theater in aurora or a street corner in chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these children are our children. and we are going to have to come together to take action to prevent more tragedies and prevent the politics. >> reporter: good morning. we are in newtown, connecticut, this morning. we are awaiting a press conference to get underway. they are gathered just to my left, but we are waiting for the folks from the state police and also the local police to update us on the very latest. the crime scene is just a half mile through that woods. that's sandy hook elementary school. and, of course, it was the sight and scene of so much chaos. we want to talk a little bit about what the president said.

it was very unusual to see him so emotional and so choked up as he gave that brief remark about the shooting. brianna kieler reporting for us from the white house. i have to say i have never seen a speech that he couldn't almost get through. and i think a lot of people would say the same thing. >> reporter: it was a very emotional moment for president obama, soledad. something certainly remarkable, but there was something else in his comments that was also remarkable. if you're someone who listens to president obama and you really parse every word he says, as so many of us do, he talked about having meaningful action. this is significant. because white house press secretary jay carney was asked yesterday about what might happen in the wake of this tragedy. every time, unfortunately, that there is a shooting like this, people start asking about what kind of legislation might congress be able to enable to

enact to stop this from happening. a lot of times that means to be gun advocates saying something needs to be done. this has not been a priority for mr. obama in his first time, but listen again today as he said it in his weekly address. >> as a nation we have endured far too many of these tragedies in the last few years. an elementary school in newtown, a shopping mall in oregon, the house of worship in wisconsin, the movie theater in colorado, countless street corners in places like chicago and philadelphia. any of these neighborhoods could be our own, so we have to come together and we'll have to make meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this from happening. regardless of politics. >> reporter: so what does that mean, meaningful action? we don't know. does that mean he may try to pursue gun control legislation? honestly, we don't know at this point, but i will tell you,

soledad, that gun control advocates look at president obama's record on gun control and they say that it's dismal. he got an "f" from the brady campaign in 2008 when he was campaigning and made a promise to pursue renewing that semiautomatic weapons band that expired in 2004. that never came to fruition. in july i was in new orleans as he gave a speech to the urban league where he talked about gun violence and having a conversation about it, but in an election year nothing ever happened to it. it is not really an appetite in congress and traditionally it is republicans who are more in favor of gun there are many democrats who are not in favor of pursuing new gun-control legislation including the head of the senate, senate majority leader harry reid. it's really interesting to listen to his language and wonder what might come out of this. it's an open question at this point, soledad. >> reporter: yeah, i think an open question on a lot of fronts. reporting from the white house, thank you. what exactly does meaningful

action mean? it's what the president said is needed to stop gun violence. the tragedies raise the level of the debate about gun control. i want to read a couple of statements for you. let's look at those. if you can scroll up. this comes from the national rifle association, "until the facts are thoroughly known, the nra has no comment." this comes from the national shooting sports foundation. actually, based here. they say this, can you scroll down again so i today that? "our hearts go out to the families of this horrible tragedy in our community. out of respect for the families, the community and the ongoing police investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment." so from both of them, pretty much getting a big resounding no comment at this point. want to get to california republican congresswoman mary bono mack. nice to see you again. we've had an opportunity to talk about a lot of things the last year on my morning program. you're a parent first and foremost.

what's your response to what has unfolded in newtown, connecticut? >> hi, soledad. thunderstorm watch for having me here. my response -- thank you for having me here. my response is the same as every american is having now, that is a bone-chilling sadness. i think that we all grieve right now. i think there's a piece of every single parent right now with these parents and these families. and you know, you've done such a great job already this morning of exploring the what ifs and why not my school and thank god it's not my school. and all of the pain and suffering that we're all feeling now. as we wait for answers, why this horrific thing happened, why we decided -- how we decided as a down move forward to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> reporter: what do you think that means? i'm going to warn you, we're waiting for this press conference. we've been waiting all morning. i 1995 jump in when you're talking and just interrupt for their start. but that hasn't happened yet. so what does meaningful action mean? what would you like to see? you support gun rights in this

country. you're a republican, and i think that's a position consistent with most republicans. what does meaningful action, that actually stops these kinds of shootings, look like to you? >> first of all, i am a republican who has had questions, too, about a number of the issues that have come before us about gun rights and gun control. for example, cop killer bullets or, you know, large magazines. i've asked those questions. but where i keep getting to really quickly is the mental health issue. i keep wondering why these people snap. especially in this instance, there -- these children were, as somebody said to me earlier, they were angels. they were absolutely defenseless. and what would make somebody snap so terribly to do something this heinous? so the question for me is not just gun rights but mental health. i agree that i've never heard this about autism. i don't know that there would be a link there. but i really believe that there are link t-- links to mental

health. we need to discuss what we can do better in the mental health system. >> maybe the answer then is both -- i don't know that you're going to get a lot of people who are going to be against giving people more mental health counseling, et cetera, et cetera. so i would agree completely on that front. let's go back to gun control. what do you think could be done to make people safe? i mean, there are people who have said, and i think honestly horribly have said that if people were armed inside the school they would have been able to shoot the shooter. do you agree with that? >> well, yes. i mean, that is one portion of it i guess. you know, i think those of us who fly often know that we feel some sort of consolation or safety knowing that there might be air marshals on board. you want to know sometimes if there's somebody there who can defend you in a situation. but you have to look at these individuals and to recognize they go to great lengths to harm other people. what lengths are they going to

go to if guns aren't at their disposal? they're going to go to the next best thing whether it's, you know, explosives or pipe bombs, whatever it's going to be. i mean, i shudder to think. but these people are deranged or have snapped. >> reporter: isn't part of the issue -- isn't part of the issue that there's easy access? we do know that his mother had five legally obtained guns. she was licensed for five guns, at least one of them is this bush 223 -- bushmaster rifle, right? a semiautomatic weapon. he had easy access to that. so i find it hard when people say, well, you know, if you didn't have a gun you could do something else. is the answer then arming more people? that doesn't make any sense to me honestly. >> no, but soledad, it probably doesn't. but we really need to have a robust discussion that includes all of this. the talks about gun control, access to weapons, and mental health. and what it all means. you know, these victims and these families really deserve a

very thorough discussion. you know, it's really -- i think we always want the quick and easy answer. and that may or may not be gun control. i don't know. right now i think -- i'm grieving too much to try to figure it out, you know -- but we need a very thorough -- >> reporter: i don't know that people want quick and easy answers. honestly with all due respect, and you and i have had many conversations over the past year. we talk a lot. i think there's always a tragedy, we all run out and cover it. and people watch at home, and they're broken hearted. we go on the next day or three weeks later as if, well, that's done. then we revisit the issue again at the next tragedy. i guarantee the next school shooting we'll be talking about gun control again. i would put money on it that between now and that next shooting no one's going to do anything. i feel very comfortable saying that. nothing will be done. so -- i just would like to know what tangible things outside of mental health issues which i think are a very, very important one, but let's table that and focus on gun control. what has to change so that

people can't get access to semi on automatic weapons and can go into a school and shoot up a bunch of kids? >> well, soledad, with all due respect, you know, first of all, we don't even know this shooter. we know his name. we don't know a whole lot more. it's been 24 hours since this tragedy. we're making a lot of assumptions that we shouldn't make yet. i would venture to guess this is a very deeply troubled individual. yes, i will have that debate with you. you know, i have as i've said -- >> reporter: we know the weapons he used. we know the weapons he used. we know that he had three weapons at least on him. so you're right, there is tons to know. we're waiting for a press conference because there's lots more to know about this young man who is 20 years old. but we to doo kn-- we do know h and killed people. he didn't stab them. he shot them. this conversation at some point has to go to what is the normal amount of guns that people can

own and how they're registered and tracked. we just -- anotherwise y -- oth we'll have this same conversation at the same terrible tragedy. i think you know we will, right? >> i pray not. of course, we all pray that we -- never again. but soledad, yes, we know that he had these weapons, but we haven't seen any toxicology results. we don't know if he was using, we don't know if he was addicted to pills. we have no idea if he's been seeking mental counseling. we don't know those answers yet. and i think, yes, i will -- we can talk about gun control, you and i as mothers, as republican and democrat, and we should talk about mental health and who he was and what contributed. and you know, then let's fo formulate those opinions. i'm happy to have those conversations because i have looked at various issues on gun control where i've diverted from my party again. in this case, this guy seriously snapped.

and the guns didn't make him snap. he snapped and then sought out the guns. and whether they were his manager's guns or whether they -- his mother's guns or whether they were somebody else's, he was going snap and do something horrific and heinous, unfortunately. >> reporter: we know -- but we know he used guns, and that's how he killed 26 people and then took his mother's life and took his own life. it was guns. mary bono mack, always nice to talk to you. i'm going to take you occupy that. you and i will continue this conversation. i think people are sick of all the -- you know, the conversation around it. and we never actually do anything. and i -- you know, maybe in nation people of tired of that at this point. i would like to see that. thank you for talking with us. >> thank you, soledad. i think we should be talking about all of these issue. thank you. >> reporter: i appreciated that. mary bono mack, congresswoman, joining us this morning. we have lots to update you on. we've been waiting for a press conference. it was supposed to happen at 8:00. it's been delayed. unclear why it's been delayed.